Rear-sight shield.



No. 80?,812. PATENTED DEC. 19, 1905.

P. 0. ELTERIGH.

REAR SIGHT SHIELD.

APPLICATION FILED MAR20.1905.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

REAR-SIGHT SHIELD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 19, 1905.

Application filed March 20, 1905. SerialNo. 250,961.

To all whom, it may concern;

Be it known that I, PAUL O. ELTERICH, a citizen of the United States, residing'at New York, 1n the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rear-Sight Shields, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an attachment for the rear sight of rifles, and more especially to that class known as the Krag-Jorgensen type, which has been adopted and used by the army and the several national guards of the United States.

The objects of my invention are, first, to provide an attachment or shield which when placed in position on the rear sight enables the marksman to quickly and accurately take aim through the peep-hole and at the same time avoid all possibility of looking over the sight or guiding-points, as is the case when my im-. provement is not applied; second, to provide an attachment or shield which can be readily applied or removed from the peep-sight attached to the wind-gage without disturbing the present arrangement of the rear sight or in any way altering the adopted construction of the above rifles; third, to construct and arrange the different parts of my attachment so that when the same is applied to or removed from the rear sight it will notinterfere with the use of any of the adjustments for elevating the muzzle or allowing for the wind; fourth, to construct the shield with its attaching means so that there are no projecting edges or points which are apt to be caught in the clothing of the marksman or other objects, and thereby cause the attachment to be displaced or lost; fifth, to arrange the shield and attaching means so that the same is inexpensive to manufacture, light and durable in construction, and at the same time of such a form and size as to be easily carried in a pocket without disarranging any of its parts; sixth, other evident advantages of the structural features and arrangements of the attachment will readily suggest themselves from reading the detailed description and use of the invention.

My invention consists of features which will be more clearly hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the one sheet of drawings, in which the difiierent parts of the improvements are indicated by the same reference characters in the several views, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a rear sight attached to a section of a rifle-barrel with my improved shield placed in position. Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1 with the rifle-barrel section removed. Fig. 3 is an end view of Fig. 2 with my improved shield removed and the peep-sight in its depressed position. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 with the peep-sight in its elevated position when used for aiming. Fig. 5is an end view of Fig. 2 or the same as Fig. 4 with my improved shield placed in position on the peep-sight. Fig. 6 is a front view of my improved shield detached from the rear sight. Fig. 7 is an end view of Fig. 6.

In the drawings, 1 represents a portion of the rifle-barrel, to which the rear sight 2 is attached in any suitable and well-known manner.

3 3 are the side sections of the saddle of the rear sight. 7

4is the leaf, which passes between the side sections 3 3 and is pivoted at one end of the saddle by means of a pin 5, the lower edge of the leaf 4 at its pivoted end being pressed by a spring 6, (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1,) and which has a tendency to hold the sliding box 7 on the leaf 4 against the upper curved edges of the side sections 3 3.

Sis a clamping-screw, having a milled head 8 for firmly holding the sliding bar 7 in any,

adjusted position on the graduated leaf 4.

9 is the wind-gage, attached to the free end of the leaf 4, and is capable of a sliding adjustment at right angles to the leaf by means of a screw 10, having a milled head 11.

12 is a sight-notch in the middle of the upper edgeof the wind-gage and which is used only when the peep-sight is not necessary for accurate aiming.

Pivotally mounted at the side on the back of the wind-gage, by means of a screw 13, is a flat plate, forming the peep-sight 14, which has at themiddle section of its upper edge an inverted-U-shaped projection 15, having a sight-opening 16, which registers in its elevated position with the open-sight notch 12 of the wind-gage 9. The back of the wind-gage is provided with several depressions 17 17, which are so located that they may be engaged by a projection 18, and thereby hold the pivoted peep-sight 14 either in its depressed (see Fig. 3) or elevated position, as indicated in Fig. 4.

19 is a small rib bent up from the lower side of the pivoted peep-sight 14, which gives a handhold when it is desirous of raising or lowering the pivoted peep-sight 14.

Ioo

The foregoing described construction of open rear sight is the form which is at present used on the Krag-Jorgensen rifle and forms no part of my present invention. It has been found in the use of this form of rear and peep sight attachmentthat owing to the eye in sighting or taking aim being such a great distance from the peep-hole 16 and the metal or width of the projection surrounding the opening 16 so small, the marksman usually sights over either to the right or left of the peepsight opening-in other 'words, beyond the outer rim of the projection 15thereby failing to hit the target. This error arises for the reason that there is not a suflicient projectingsurface beyond the circular edge of the peep-sight opening. In ,order to overcome this defect and at the same time not interfere with any of the adjusting mechanism, I have devised a shield which is shown detached in Figs. 6 and 7 and in its operative position in Figs. 1, 2, and 5. This rear-sight shield comprises a flat plate 20, of a width corresponding to the width of the back of the wind-gage and having its upper edge preferably rounded :and projecting a short distance above the shoulder or upper edge of the wind-gage 9. Secured to one sideof this plate 20 by small rivets 20 20 or other suitable means is a rectangular strip 21, having its middle section bent or raised above the plane of the plate and forming therewith an open pocket 22. This middle section of the strip 21 is also provided with an inverted-U-shaped notch or cutout section 23, which corresponds to a circular opening 24 through the plate 20.

25. is a slot in the plate 20, having one of its edges bent over, which is adapted to snap over the rib 19 when my attachment is placed on the pivoted peep-sight in its elevated position, as indicated in Figs. 4; and 5.

26 is an inverted-U-shaped opening at the lower edge and corner of the plate 20 and is for the purpose of permitting the head of the pivotal screw 13 to pass through the plate when the same is adjusted or sprung in position, as indicated in Fig. 5.

27 is a short turned-under section of the lower edge of plate 20 and at the other corner from that of the opening 26, described above, the function of which edge is to engage the lower ridge or rim of the wind-gage sight 9 and prevent the rear-sight shield 20 or attachment from being displaced in an upward di rection.

28 is a pin attached to the shield 20 and preferably, as shown in Fig. 6, near the circular opening 24 and on the same side as the open pocket 22. The function of this pin 28 is to engage the upper edge or shoulder of the wind-gage 9, and thereby prevent the shield from being displaced by turning in a downward direction.

In applying my invention to the present form of rear sights as used on the Krag-Jorgensen rifles it is only necessary to adjust the rear peep-sight as shown in Fig. 4 and slide the open pocket 22 over the upper projection 15 of the sight. This will make the opening 24: in the shield register'with the opening 16 of the peep-sight and the sight-notch 12 of the wind-gage. the opening 26, and the turned-over edge of the slot 25 engages the ridge 19. The turnedover section 27 and the pin 28 engage, respec tively, the lower and upper edge or shoulder of the wind-gage, as heretofore described, and prevent any possible means of detachment or displacement of the shield.

From the foregoing detailed description of the construction and use of my invention it will be readily seen that I have devised an attachment for the rear sight of a rifle which effects all the objects set forth in the statement of my invention and that there is no possibility in using my improvement that a marksman can fail to clearly and readily sight the rifle and ever look over or to the side of the peep-hole; furthermore, that those objects are all fully carried out without the shield in any way interfering with moving or adjusting the wind-gage and at all times moves with the same.

While I have shown and described one specific form of my invention, it can be readily seen that many changes will readily suggest themselves to any one and yet be within the scope of my invention, and while I have shown the stops or pins for engaging the upper and lower edges of the wind-gage to prevent the attachment from being displaced these may be omitted Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. A rear-sight attachment for rifles or the like comprising a plate, a sight-opening in said plate and means on the plate for detachably securing the same to the back of the windgage on the rear sight of a rifle and have the sight-notch of the wind-gage register with the sight-opening of the plate.

2. A rear-sight attachment for rifles or the like comprising a plate, a sight-opening in said plate and means on the plate for detachably securing the same to the back of the windgage on the rear sight of a rifle and have the peep-sight of the wind-gage register with the sight-opening of the plate.

3. A rear-sight attachment for rifles or the like comprising a plate, a sight-opening in said plate, means on the plate for detachably securing the same to the back of the wind-gage on the rear sight of a rifle and have the peepsight of the wind-gage register with the sightopening of the plate, and means connected with the plate for engaging the upper and The screw 13 readily passes in lower edges of the wind-gage to prevent displacement or disengagement of the attachment.

4:. A rear-sight attachment for rifles or the like comprising a flat plate, a sight-opening in said plate, means on the plate for detachably securing the same to the back of the windgage on the rear sight of a rifle and have the peep-sight of the wind-gage register with the sight-opening of the plate, an inverted-U- shaped opening in the lower edge of the plate to engage a pin or screw on the back of the wind-gage, and a turned-over section on the lower edge of the plate to engage the lower shoulder on the back of the wind-gage.

5. A rear-sight attachment for rifles or the like comprising a fiat plate, a sight-opening in said plate, means attached to the plate for detachably securing the same to the back of the wind-gage on the rear sight of a rifle and have the peep-sight and notch of the windgage register with the sight-opening of the plate, an inverted-U-shaped opening in the lower edge of the plate to engage a screw on the back of the wind-gage, a turned-over section on the lower edge of the plate to engage the lower shoulder at the back of the windgage, and a pin attached to the plate adapted to engage the upper shoulder of the windgage.

bent as to form an open pocket with the plate at the section corresponding to the small opening, an opening in the bent-up portion of the strip registering with the opening in the plate, a U-shaped opening at the edge and near one end of the said straight side of the plate, a small turned-over edge of the plate at the other end of the straight side, an inclined slot in the plate between the turned-over edge and the rectangular strip, and a stop-pin attached to the plate on the same side as the strip and near its opening.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PAUL O. ELTERICH. Witnesses:

JOHN T. BOOTH,

E. T. MINOGUE. 

